As might have been expected glancing over the matchups this weekend, we shouldn’t see much, if any, movement around the heights of the AP top 25 college football rankings coming out of Saturday and moving into the 2025 regular season finale weekend.
Most of the higher-placed teams either didn’t play or easily won their games against overmatched opponents, likely leaving much of the top half of the rankings untouched. But not all of them.
We should see some movement around the middle of the poll and especially near the bottom after some losses over the weekend, paving the way for some new teams to crack the top 25.
What teams will be on the move in the AP top 25 college football rankings this week?
Let’s take a shot at predicting who’s moving up, and who’s going down, in the polls as we look ahead to the 2025 regular season finale this Saturday.
Rankings reflect AP top 25 poll
Moving up: Texas
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Last week’s ranking: No. 17
Most people understandably wrote the Longhorns out of the College Football Playoff picture following their ugly 35-10 loss at Georgia last weekend, but in truth they were still clinging to some path, albeit narrow, to make the field even with three losses.
Beating up on Arkansas by a 52-37 count at home keeps that path open and widens it ever so slightly, but they’ll have to put on a good show against undefeated rival Texas A&M at home next weekend to realistically move anywhere near the top-dozen.
In the win, Arch Manning became the first Texas player ever to throw for, run for, and catch touchdowns in a single game, and passed for a career-high 389 yards, the next step on what has been a run of improved play since his disastrous early showing in 2025.
With losses by both USC and Georgia Tech this weekend, the Longhorns will take advantage by moving up at least two spots into the No. 15 position in the new rankings.
Moving down: USC
Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Last week’s ranking: No. 16
Coming into this weekend, the Trojans were hanging on by the skin of their teeth to, just maybe, an outside chance at one of the last at-large bids in the College Football Playoff.
But sitting at two losses, they had absolutely no margin for error heading into the biggest test of their season, on the road against Big Ten playoff contender Oregon.
That margin vanished into thin air in the wake of a 42-27 loss in another puzzling road loss for Lincoln Riley, who fell to 6-13 against ranked opponents in his tenure at USC.
Other losers at the bottom of the rankings could cushion USC’s fall and keep it just inside the top 25, but it will be close and they could fall out on a couple of ballots.
Moving up: Michigan
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Last week’s ranking: No. 18
Things looked a little shaky for the Wolverines coming off last week’s last-second win against Northwestern and going into this weekend without both their most talented rushers in Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall.
But their third option did the heavy lifting in their absence, as Bryson Kuzdzal ran for 100 yards and scored 3 touchdowns in a 25-point victory at Maryland.
That keeps Michigan hanging around just outside the College Football Playoff bubble heading into the most important game of its year, against archnemesis Ohio State, looking to make it five straight and throw a monkey wrench into the undefeated, top-ranked Buckeyes’ season.
For now, the Wolverines will take advantage of losses by USC and Georgia Tech to inch up the rankings, likely two spots to stay right behind Texas again this week.
Moving down: Georgia Tech
Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Last week’s ranking: No. 15
All the Ramblin’ Wreck had to do was beat Pittsburgh, and they would have clinched a place in the ACC Championship Game. So much for that.
A very slow start, some untimely turnovers, including a 100-yard pick-six that came when Haynes King was in scoring position resulted in a 42-28 loss that now puts Georgia Tech’s ACC title hopes in serious peril.
Consequently, its College Football Playoff hopes are also in jeopardy as they need some outside help to qualify for the conference championship game.
For now, the Yellow Jackets are due a drop down into the bottom fifth of this week’s rankings.
What the College Football Playoff bracket looks like right now
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Five automatic qualifiers
Ohio State, Big Ten champion
Texas A&M, SEC champion
Texas Tech, Big 12 champion
Miami, ACC champion
Tulane, Group of Five selection
First Round Byes
No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 Indiana
No. 3 Texas A&M
No. 4 Georgia
First Round Games
12 Tulane at
5 Texas Tech
Winner plays 4 Georgia
9 Notre Dame at
8 Oklahoma
Winner plays 1 Ohio State
11 Miami at
6 Ole Miss
Winner plays 3 Texas A&M
10 Alabama at
7 Oregon
Winner plays 2 Indiana
First team out: BYU
Second team out: Utah
